The present invention concerns a CD disc case.
The difficulty when using CD discs is that of management of the discs. It frequently happens, especially in the case of CD ROM discs used in information technology, that several discs are used in succession and alternately, so that disorder can develop very quickly in a series of discs.
The CD case including a indicator is already known (U.S Pat. No. 5,628,399). But its production, very complex because of the installation of the indicator with the spring interposed, renders the cost prohibitive.
The aim of the present invention is to develop a simple means for detecting from the outside the presence or absence of a CD disc in a case even when the cases are stacked or arranged vertically.
To this end, the invention concerns a CD disc case of the type defined above, characterised by the slider carrying a tongue in the shape of a very open dihedron in which the first wing is connected by a first hinge to the first portion of the slider, at a natural, non-zero angle xcex1. The second wing projects naturally beyond the cavity of the case to be on the path of closure of the slider and, in the absence of a disc, to co-operate with the inner face of the lid to be pushed towards the inside of the cavity and to pull the slider into the retracted position, or to be subjected to the action of the disc placed in the housing, to press against the inclined portion of the raised edge and push the slider back into its indicating position.
This form of mechanical indicator is very simple to produce, since it is sufficient to have a window in the broad edge of the false bottom and an opening in the edge of the disc housing of the false bottom to permit the passage of the slider forming the indicator.
This case, with its slider having a tongue, makes it possible to omit any return means for the slider and the latter will be certain to be situated in the retracted position in the absence of a disc inside the case. The slider with its tongue is preferably produced in one piece from plastics material and the hinge is itself produced by a film of plastics material. Depending on the elasticity or the rigidity desired for the articulation of the hinge, the film forming the latter is made thicker or thinner. The connection between the first and the second wing is relatively rigid in order to maintain correctly the very open dihedral shape for the tongue; the latter thus constitutes a relatively rigid part making it possible to push the slider into its retracted position with the inner surface and, if required, the inner edge of the lid at the moment of closure of the latter. The angle of the dihedron corresponds substantially to the inclination of the inclined portion of the raised edge.
The other articulation or hinge connecting the tongue to the first portion of the slider is relatively flexible. This articulation corresponds to an angle naturally more or less open, that is to say that its shape arises from its manufacture and that it naturally tends to reassume that angle.
Interestingly, the opening of the edge of the disc housing is extended by a cutaway portion or a recess in the base of the false bottom to constitute a means for guiding the slider.
The slider is introduced easily and quickly into the gap between the bottom and the false bottom, either through the window or through the opening, thus making it possible to produce and assemble the case in a customary manner and then place the slider in position. This also allows the user to choose sliders of different colours to permit rapid coding of the cases, it being of even greater interest that the slider appears on the edge of the case placed in order.
The visible surface of the second portion of the slider is a surface preferably coated with a material or colour contrasting with the colour of the case. It may in particular be a fluorescent colour. This colour will appear even on the edge of the case, since the broad edge overlaps the edge of the bottom of the case. At this level, whether it be a transparent portion or an absence of material, the window will make it possible to see, either directly or by refraction, the second portion of the indicator or of the slider appearing in the window and revealing the presence of a disc in the case.
According to another advantageous feature, the indicator in the form of a slider is obtained by extrusion of a profile section which is then cut into slices providing sliders. This facilitates considerably the manufacture of the indicators by avoiding having to produce extremely complicated moulds for small parts of small dimensions.
This method of manufacture also makes it possible to store the sliders more easily or to prepare them in advance, then provide them with an imprint or a personalised element such as a colour applied by coating.
The profile extrusion also makes it possible to choose materials differing from one profile section to another, depending on the applications of the slider or for tinting the profile section in the mass.
According to another advantageous feature, the profile section is extruded with materials having different mechanical properties at least in the region of the articulation; the articulation is extruded in a resilient material while the other portions are extruded in one or more rigid materials, the hues of which can be modified locally.
The indicating surface produced on the indicator may receive inscriptions and impressions. It is also possible to code the surface or to produce impressions in relief thereon or recessed therein to personalise the product. This printing means, which is difficult to falsify since it is not an impression made by laser, will complicate counterfeiting in small batches. In other words, a CD case equipped at origin with an indicator may thus be immediately authenticated by simply checking the indicator.
The indicating surface is preferably inclined in order to pass beneath the flange of the case and to be held correctly within the case.
The indicating surface constitutes a means for simple identification and classification of the cases, since by means of colour coding of the indicators, the cases may be classified without having to examine the label, which would necessitate examining the cases one by one.
On the contrary, owing to the window and the indicating surface appearing in the window, it is sufficient to offset the cases slightly with respect to one another to render the window visible and check the classification or locate errors of classification.
Such classification may also be of interest in sales containers, since the discs are generally presented in a position which is not vertical but slightly inclined, and therefore the window and the indicator are visible from one disc to another.